Human dignity ... is derived from a sense of independence.

The great constructive energies of the child ... have hitherto been concealed beneath an accumulation of ideas concerning motherhood. We used to say it was the mother who formed the child; for it is she who teaches him to walk, talk, and so on. But none of this is really done by the mother. It is an achievement of the child. What the mother brings forth is the baby, but it is the baby who produces the man. Should the mother die, the baby still grows up and completes his work of making the man.

The child, in fact, once he feels sure of himself, will no longer seek the approval of authority after every step.

Our goal is not so much the imparting of knowledge as the unveiling and developing of spiritual energy.

The children are now working as if I did not exist.

Growth comes from activity, not from intellectual understanding.

The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.